A new study found that thalidomide gave HCC patients who had undergone grossly curative resection surgical removal of the cancerous part of the liver double the two-year disease free survival rate (65%) compared to placebo (33%).

A new study has found that chlorophyll and its derivative chlorophyllin are effective in limiting the absorption of aflatoxin in humans. Aflatoxin is produced by a fungus that is a contaminant of grains including corn, peanuts and soybeans; it is known to cause liver cancer.Dec 30, 2009 - 12:52:29 PM

A combined therapeutic approach of stenting and photodynamic therapy may improve survival rates for patients suffering from advanced liver bile duct cancer, according to a study published this month in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. Mar 11, 2008 - 3:40:58 PM

Percutaneous imaging guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of hepatocellular carcinoma is a safe and effective technique, with benefits such as reduced post-procedural pain and length of hospital stay, according to a study conducted by researchers from Changi General Hospital in Singapore.May 5, 2007 - 2:14:26 AM

A featured paper in the February 14 issue of Nature Cancer Gene Therapy demonstrates that cancer cells in the liver are excellent targets for gene therapy using adenoviral vectors, based upon a fundamental new understanding of the differences between cancerous and normal liver cells. The findings signal a new way to treat cancers that have spread to the liver, such as metastatic cancers of the colon and breast.Feb 15, 2007 - 3:28:37 AM

Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NYSE: BAY) and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONXX) today announced that an independent data monitoring committee (DMC) has reviewed the safety and efficacy data from the companies' pivotal Phase 3 trial in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or primary liver cancer. Based on this planned interim analysis, the DMC has concluded that the trial met its primary endpoint resulting in superior overall survival (OS) in those patients receiving Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets versus those patients receiving placebo. The DMC also noted that there was no demonstrated difference in serious adverse event rates between the two treatment arms (Nexavar and placebo). Based on these conclusions, the DMC recommended that the trial be stopped early.Feb 12, 2007 - 9:09:17 AM

Colchicine, an anti-inflammatory drug most often used to treat gout, prevented liver cancer in patients with hepatitis virus-related end-stage liver disease, according to a new study.Sep 11, 2006 - 4:22:00 PM

By generating tumors in laboratory mice that mimic human liver cancer and by comparing the DNA of mouse and human tumors, researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have identified two genes that are likely to play a role in the third leading cause of human cancer deaths. The study also establishes an efficient and adaptable method for exploring the biology of liver cancer, for validating potential therapeutic targets, and for testing new treatments. Jun 29, 2006 - 2:40:00 AM

In a study of a new chemotherapy drug for liver cancer, researchers found that the development of a skin rash correlated directly with the patient's response to treatment. Patients who developed a rash lived twice as long as those who did not, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute presented today at the 42nd American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Atlanta.Jun 5, 2006 - 4:25:00 PM

Patients and their physicians should be careful when selecting a chemotherapy drug to treat colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. While surgery to remove liver metastases also has proven beneficial, both of the most commonly used chemotherapy drugs to treat these tumors can seriously injure the liver the researchers report in the May 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Furthermore the damage caused to the liver by these preoperative chemotherapy regimens can adversely affects long-term surgical outcomes. May 1, 2006 - 12:30:00 AM

Primary liver cancer is much more likely to take root when a naturally occurring enzyme is in short supply, a team of researchers has found at Mount Sinai Hospital's Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute.Jul 28, 2005 - 7:06:00 PM

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have uncovered a crucial molecular link between a viral infection and development of a common and fatal form of liver cancer. In the process, they have identified a possible way to treat this disease as well as a number of other cancers.Jul 22, 2005 - 1:05:00 AM

The use of expandable electrodes with multiple tips in the treatment of liver tumors by radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is safe and effective, making it a useful alternative to surgery in selected patients, say researchers from the University of Brescia in Italy. May 23, 2005 - 10:49:00 AM

A new study on the incidence of liver cancer after transplant found that high levels of the immunosuppressant cyclosporine favored tumor recurrence and identified blood levels of the drug that should not be exceeded. Lower levels of cyclosporine levels did not affect rejection rates.Apr 25, 2005 - 10:47:00 PM

Liver cancer is the most common organ malignancy worldwide and generally carries a poor prognosis. Surgical resection  removing the cancerous portion of the liver  is considered the best hope for a cure. Unfortunately, most patients do not qualify for surgery. Liver transplantations are available for a small number of patients, but organ supply is limited, and tumor progression during the prolonged waiting period results in a high dropout rate. Consequently, RF ablation has emerged as an alternative treatment for inoperable liver cancer and may also be useful as a bridge to liver transplantation.Feb 16, 2005 - 3:58:00 PM

Cigarette smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, and hepatitis B infection are all independent risk factors for death from liver cancer, but they do not interact synergistically, according to a new study.

Liver cancer is one of the most widespread cancers in the world, particularly in Asia and Africa where hepatitis and aflatoxin exposures are common. Risk factors include chronic alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, dietary aflatoxin exposure, hepatitis B infection, and hepatic cirrhosis, but there has been limited exploration of the combined effects of these exposures.

Sun Ha Jee, Ph.D., M.H.S., of Yonsei University, in Seoul, Korea, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study of more than 1.2 million Korean men and women to assess the independent effects and interactions of three risk factors for liver cancer: cigarette smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, and hepatitis B infection. All three risk factors were independently associated with an increased risk of death from liver cancer, but there was no interaction between them. Dec 16, 2004 - 7:21:00 PM

Identifying the link between chronic hepatitis B infection and liver cancer may one day help cancer patients sidestep the poison of chemotherapy, a Purdue University study suggests.

The research group of Ourania M. Andrisani (oo-RAHN-ee-ah an-dri-SAH-nee) has shown that a protein the hepatitis virus instructs chronically infected liver cells to produce - known as the X protein - under certain conditions instructs precancerous infected liver cells to die. The discovery of how the X protein influences liver cell behavior could be harnessed as an anticancer therapy, turning the X protein's presence in the liver to patients' advantage.Dec 16, 2004 - 6:12:00 PM